About Lincoln County, NM

The Ruidoso News reported yesterday that current legislative efforts in Santa Fe, to help Ruidoso Downs Race Track with “tax parity” is essentially “dead” as currently written. State lawmakers are in no mood to grant tax concessions to race tracks and casinos – given the $600 million budget gap the state is facing.

It appears that new legislation may be substituted, whereby local property tax or gross receipt tax dollars would be used to offset the track’s annual losses. This option seems to have support in the Capitol – and within the Senate Finance Committee, where Chairman John Arthur Smith ( D-Deming, NM) has previously opposed the tax parity bill.

Last November, the Ruidoso Downs Racetrack and Casino applied with the New Mexico Racing Commission to move it’s operations to Las Cruces, should the State Legislature not pass a “tax parity” bill.

Read more about this story at The Ruidoso Blog.

Looking at the 2009 sales data for Ruidoso real estate, a downward yearly trend continues for overall volume, when compared to the prior 3 years. The 2009 total dollar volume of $55.6 mil., was down from 2008, at $64.6 mil. 2006 and 2007 came in at $86.7 mil. and $79.3 mil. respectively.

The number of units sold annually also declined for the 4 year period. From 407 properties in 2006, 388 in 2007, 302 in 2008, and 260 in 2009. The declining numbers reflect a national economy & red hot real estate market slowing from record highs in 2006.

However, the last quarter of 2009 was up considerably over fourth quarter 2008, by almost 25 per cent. The last quarter of 2009 showed sales volume of $20.5 mil ( 84 units sold ) vs. $15.5 mil ( 69 units sold ) for the last quarter of 2008.

The increase in 2009’s fourth quarter sales may be attributed to several factors including the government’s First Time Home Buyers tax credit, low interest rates, and buyers seeking alternative investments to stocks, which took a severe beating in the 2008 Wall St. crash and financial crisis.

Buying Opportunity:

More recently, I think sales are being driven by price reductions. Sellers are realizing the economy is still weakened by high unemployment, government policy, and general uncertainty regarding recovery. Interest rates have remained low, although, qualifying for home loans has become more difficult with new laws and tighter standards on borrowers.

In addition, there has been an excess inventory of available properties on the market, putting further downward pressure on prices and motivating sellers to be more competitive.

Median Snapshot:

The price range of $159K to $259K is typically the most active in Ruidoso. In 2009 this range had 76 sales closed. Median list price was$223K, sales price was $203K, producing a list / sold price ratio of 94%. Price per sq. ft. was $129, and median days on market was 161.

Contact me for price reductions, custom property searches, or any questions you might have regarding real estate in the Alto or Ruidoso area. I’ll be glad to set up a email notifier for you to get listing alerts. Email mary@ruidoso-homes.com or call or text me at 575-937-5229.

For more information on the Ruidoso real estate market visit the Ruidoso Blog.

"Hotfoot Teddy" - The Living symbol of Smokey Bear by: Robert Swetz

Did you know that there was a real bear that was named "Hotfoot Teddy" that was later changed to Smokey Bear!

The living symbol of Smokey Bear was an American black bear who in the spring of 1950 was caught in the Capitan Gap fire, a wildfire that burned 17,000 acres in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico.

The cub was in the Lincoln National Forest. Smokey had climbed a tree to escape the blaze, but his paws and hind legs had been burned. He was rescued by a game warden after the fire.

At first he was called "Hotfoot Teddy," but he was later renamed Smokey, after the mascot. A local rancher who had been helping fight the fire took the cub home with him, but he needed veterinary aid. New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Ranger Ray Bell took him to Santa Fe. His wife, Ruth, and their children, Don and Judy, cared for the cub.

The story was picked up by the national news services and Smokey became an instant celebrity. He and the Bells were featured in Life magazine, cementing his star status.

Soon after, Smokey was flown in a Piper Cub to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., where he lived for 26 years.

Upon his death on November 9, 1976, Smokey's remains were returned by the government to Capitan, New Mexico, and buried at what is now the Smokey Bear Historical Park.

And I don't know who this goofy guy is touching Smokey on the cheek and it's a good thing Smokey is a friendly Bear.

And this young lady from Burma (Myanmar) in the photo above has never even heard of Smokey Bear until now!

(And Remember "Ony You" can prevent Forest Fires)!

Photographs by Robert Swetz - Taken in Capitan New Mexico - July 5-2009 - All Rights reserved -

Can anyone please tell me what these dogs are doing in this drawing? And why do you think the artist put the dogs in the drawing?

Rumer has it that this is the only photograph ever found of Billy the Kid, and if you would like to know more about Billy the Kid go to ..........

Billy the Kid- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

www.SearchMyPics.com

If anyone posts blogs about (Famous) people please post them here at .... Famous People Only

These photographs were taken by Robert Swetz in Lincoln New Mexico - Please don't copy - "Thank You"

There has been a lot of interest in Alto Village real estate this summer with prospective buyers looking to take advantage of a large inventory of homes for sale, and market conditions that have cooled prices since the highs of 2006 and 2007.

Alto Village is made up of 7 individual subdivisions: Alto Lakes Golf & Country Club, Deer Park Meadows, Deer Park Valley, Deer Park Woods, High Mesa, Lakeside Estates, and Sierra Blanca. Today’s buyers are looking for value, or “a great deal”, so I thought it would be good to compare the numbers by subdivision in Alto, and look at recent price reductions.

The chart below shows data for each subdivision.

As you can see, there have been some significant price reductions, especially in Deer Park Woods and Sierra Blanca. If you would like information on specific listings that have been reduced, or to receive a list of all properties for sale in Alto Lakes Golf & Country Club, please contact me, or email mary@ruidoso-homes.com or call or text me at 575-937-5229.

Read more about Alto NM real estate at the RuidosoBlog.com.